The Machine

The Machine

Year

1327 AE

Storyline

Living World Season 2

Chapter

Entanglement

Location

Cavern of the Shining Lights
(Dry Top)

Level

80

Preceded by

Trouble at Fort Salma

Followed by

Rallying Call

API

367

The Machine is the fifth and final story episode of the Entanglement chapter of Living World Season 2.

Objectives

Return to Scarlet's ley line hub lab in Dry Top.

• Join your friends to check in on Taimi back in Dry Top.
• Talk to Taimi.
• Follow Taimi.
• Talk to Kasmeer.
• Save Taimi.
• Confer with your friends.
• Talk to Kasmeer again.

Rewards

• Lump of Raw Ambrite (3)
• Small Bag of Geodes (contains 5 Geodes)
• Zephyrite Lockpick
• Deluxe Gear Box
• Dragonite Ore (10)

Walkthrough

The final chapter of Entanglement begins with you reuniting with the rest of the team to share the sad news about Fort Salma. Taimi relays what she has figured out so far - this was the first ley line Scarlet found, the waypoints are inadvertently causing the vines to appear across Tyria, the vines are coming from Mordremoth itself, and they could be stopped by simply altering the frequency the waypoints' magic operates on. Taimi goes on to reveal she's also found Omadd's machine. Kasmeer discusses her concerns about it and the effect it had on its last victim. Before Taimi can be stopped, she runs inside the machine's chamber to try it out. The party is blown back as the machine activates and prevents everyone from going inside. Kasmeer casts a shielding spell on you, shouting for you to pull Taimi out before it's too late. Once inside, you grab Taimi and toss her away from the active chamber, only to be caught in there yourself. There, you discover what Scarlet had seen: the Eternal Alchemy. The six mysterious orbs that possibly represent the six Elder Dragons, the Pale Tree, and how you are in the middle of it all.

Moments later, you are awakened by your comrades who tell you that you've been unconscious for some time. You explain to them what you had witnessed within the machine. The episode concludes as you determine that the next step is to speak with the Pale Tree herself.

Achievements

Entanglement	Entanglement	1  0
Follow Scarlet's trail to uncover what she was after in Dry Top.Journal: "Entanglement" Completed Reward: Token of Taimi's Gratitude	Completed "Entanglement"	0

• Complete the story step.

NPCs

Allies

• Braham
• Frostbite
• Kasmeer Meade
• Rox
• Taimi

Dialogue

Approaching the group

Braham Eirsson: There you are. We were starting to worry. Where's Marjory? You two are normally attached at the hip.

Rox: Shut up, Braham. Kasmeer? Is Marjory all right? Did something happen?

Kasmeer Meade: Her sister...Belinda...was killed...at Fort Salma. Marjory went home to be with her family and to mourn.

Braham Eirsson: Oh no. That's terrible. But, wait. Why are you here? Shouldn't you be with her?

Kasmeer Meade: I wanted to go with her, but she asked me to see this mission through. She's safe, at least, with family.

Rox: How's she holding up?

Kasmeer Meade: Oh, you know. She puts on a strong face, but I see right through it. I can see that she's hurting and that she blames herself.

Kasmeer Meade: She promised she'd join us as soon as she can.

Taimi: Poor Marjory.

Rox: I'm so sorry, Kasmeer.

Braham Eirsson: Sorry, my friend.

Taimi: Let me catch you up on what I've learned so far.

Talking with Taimi

This was Scarlet's first ley line. It's a hub where multiple lines converge, but it's still tiny compared to the one in Lion's Arch.

I heard some of what happened.

Miners dug here and hit this pocket. I imagine the ley line messed with all their machines, so they abandoned the mine. But some must have talked, and Scarlet heard about it.

So this is where it all began?

This is definitely where Scarlet began to intensely research ley lines, yes. These machines let us see the magic that is usually invisible.

What does all her research add up to?

You realize that if Scarlet hadn't lost her mind, she'd have been heralded as one of the greatest arcane researchers of the century. This is an unprecedented discovery—what all asura dream of.

I'm less interested in her past than in our future.

Impatient much? Gosh. Okay, I've ascertained that there's a disturbance in the ley lines, and it's affecting certain waypoints.

Affecting waypoints?

Unfortunately Scarlet was right. When we asura placed the waypoints, some worked better than others, so we got rid of the ones that didn't work and kept those that did.

They worked better when placed on a ley line.

Correct. Without even realizing what we were doing, we tapped into the power of the ley lines. And it's no longer just theory. I can prove it now.

So how are the waypoints affected?

I'm 98.5 percent sure I can answer correctly. It's these vines. They're attracted to the magical resonance of the waypoints.

The vines? So, you mean Mordremoth's corruption.

Not exactly. It's my belief that these vines we're seeing are coming directly from the dragon, spreading underground across Tyria. It's not just corruption. It's him.

And the free-moving ones aboveground?

As far as I can tell, they're corrupted. And spreading. But our primary concern is the waypoint situation. If that gets worse, we could be in serious trouble.

We have to do something.

Taimi: I was just getting to that. I can build a device that will make the waypoints more efficient. They'll be less attractive to Mordremoth.

Kasmeer Meade: What do you need us to do?

Taimi: At the moment, nothing. I have the matter well in hand. But there is something else. Hee! Something so amazing! Wanna see? Follow me.

Taimi: Looky look look! Can you believe your eyes?

Rox: Uhhhh. What is it?

Taimi: It's Omadd's machine, you simpleton.

Braham Eirsson: Hey. Respect.

Taimi: Sorry. But it's the very device that showed Scarlet the Eternal Alchemy. It still works!

Braham Eirsson: Can I smash it? That thing's gotta be dangerous.

Taimi: Absolutely not! Think about what we could learn. Besides, my mind is far more resilient than Scarlet's was.

Kasmeer Meade: Umm, I don't think you should mess with it. I'm inclined to agree with Braham. What do you think?

Talking with Kasmeer

What do you think we should do? If this is the device Scarlet portaled here from Omadd's lab, then it's got to be dangerous.

It looks like Scarlet added to it. Some of the parts look different, newer.

That makes me even more nervous. Is it powered up?

I think so. What do you remember about this device?

Taimi said it was designed to affect the mind, to open it to new awareness. I heard that when Scarlet got into it, she claimed she saw what asura call the Eternal Alchemy.

What else?

It broke Scarlet's mind. After she used it, she was never the same. It's as if it opened the door to insanity.

She never was the same again.

She committed her first murder after using it and escalated quickly after that.

Yes. This machine started her on a very dark path.

So what are we going to do? We can't let Taimi near it.

For her own good, I agree.

When Taimi runs inside the machine

Kasmeer Meade: Oh no! We have to— (gasp)

Rox: Don't touch anything. We don't know what— Taimi!

Taimi: (scream)

(A massive energy burst emits, knocking everyone back)

Braham Eirsson: Can't get close. That thing is shooting off too much lightning.

(A bubble appears around the player)

Kasmeer Meade: I'll shield you. Get her out of there!

After the cutscene

(Allies refer to player character's gender in this scenario)

Braham Eirsson: Hey! Hey, you okay? I think he/she's dead.

Kasmeer Meade: What? No. He/She's alive.

Taimi: Tell us everything! What did you see?

Rox: Are you all right? Once it had you, we were afraid to just yank you out.

Kasmeer Meade: Then, you started screaming...and we had no choice.

Rox: How do you feel? When you're ready to talk, we're ready to listen.

Talking with Rox

Boss? Are you okay? Take deep breaths.

It was incredible.

What was? What are you talking about?

I had a vision. I saw it. The Eternal Alchemy.

You what? You're going to have to explain. I don't understand.

I'll try. I saw how Tyria is woven, and...I'm tied up in it. Somehow.

Okay, I think you need to rest awhile. Do you hurt anywhere?

Listen. Vast energies flow through and around Tyria, and I saw a dragon. It...um...

It what? What did you see?

It was part of the workings of the world. It came at me.

That sounds like a terrible nightmare.

I also saw the Pale Tree at the heart of a vast moving puzzle, as Scarlet did.

The Pale Tree? What do you think it means?

It means we need to talk to her.

What can she do? She's a tree.

(If sylvari)

She's the Pale Tree. She's magical beyond imagining. She can access the Dream.

(otherwise)

She has political clout. She's important—perhaps more than we know.

Taimi: I wish I'd seen it.

Braham Eirsson: I'm glad you're okay, but you had magic flowing out of your ears. (laugh)

Kasmeer Meade: It wasn't so bad.

Rox: His/Her hair was standing straight up!

Braham Eirsson: (laugh)

Kasmeer Meade: (laugh) It was!

Kasmeer Meade: OK, guys, this is serious. We need to talk about what we're going to do. What's the plan?

Talking with Kasmeer

Can you explain more about what you saw? What do you think it means?

It's hard to describe. The Pale Tree was in my vision, represented by the symbol we saw on the drawing in Scarlet's room. We have to go talk to her.

In the Grove? Do you think she can help you make sense of your vision?

She may be our greatest ally. It's time to make the world aware of Mordremoth.

Yes, I see. We should talk to her. How do you think we should make the world aware? That sounds like a big job.

We need to let leaders know. If we're lucky, they'll listen.

So you don't just want to inform them. You want to get them to work together against Mordremoth?

I can't imagine any greater or more urgent threat than Mordremoth.

True. Between the endangered waypoints, the corrupted Mordrem, and the vines spreading underground as far as the Shiverpeaks toward our hoards of magical items, I don't see how they could disagree.

We'll find a way. But first, we need to talk to the Pale Tree.

You're reaching for the stars. How can we pull that off? You're well respected, but will that be enough?

We'll take it one step at a time. And this journey begins with the Pale Tree.

All right. You know we'd follow you anywhere. I'll send a request for an audience to the Grove. (sigh) But before I meet you there, I want to stop by the Reach and check on Jory.

We'll meet you in the Grove when the Pale Tree is available. You okay, Kas?

Me? Yes, I'm okay. It's not easy seeing someone you love go through a loss like that. Jory was trying to be strong, but all I could see was her despair.

It must have been heart wrenching for you.

She's a soldier, so she bottles it all up inside. I just want to be there to pick up the pieces when the dam breaks.

She's a soldier. She'll grieve after the funeral—and her duty—are complete.

I expect so. Until then, she's got to be strong for her mother and sisters. If only I still had my family's wealth, I could take her away from all this. Keep her safe. Give her the things she deserves.

She's a fighter. Do you think she'd be content being...kept?

I don't know. I just want to do something for her. I just want her to be safe.

None of us are safe so long as the dragons are active.

I see.

I see.

I see.

I have to go. Good-bye.

Later.

Not now.

Kasmeer Meade: I'll mail you when I'm ready to go to the Pale Tree. 'Bye, everyone.

My story

“ In Scarlet's one-time lab at the ley line hub beneath Dry Top, Taimi started developing a device to recalibrate the waypoints so as not to attract Mordrem. She'd also discovered Omadd's machine, the device that Scarlet used to see the Eternal Alchemy. I unwittingly entered the device and experienced my own cosmic vision—one that included the Pale Tree and a handful of mysterious orbs representing Elder Dragons. I need to speak with the Pale Tree to learn more. — My story

Notes

• The final cinematic will show each player in the party their own version.
• The astrological assembly seen in the vision, was later confirmed to be called The All (during Hidden Arcana).

Trivia

• When the story first came out players found that some tonics worked in the final cinematic. ArenaNet said that they knew this would happen. They also confirmed that they don't want to fix it even if they could.

References

---

Living World Season 2 storyline

Gates of Maguuma	Disturbance in Brisban Wildlands → Fallen Hopes → Tracking the Master of Peace → Cornered → Prosperity's Mystery
Entanglement	Scarlet's Secret Room → Discovering Scarlet's Breakthrough → The Concordia Incident → Trouble at Fort Salma → The Machine
The Dragon's Reach: Part 1	Rallying Call → Uprooting the Iron Marches → The Waypoint Conundrum → Summit Invitations → Plan of Attack
The Dragon's Reach: Part 2	Party Politics → Recalibrating the Waypoints → Taimi and the Asura → The World Summit
Echoes of the Past	The Ghosts of Fort Salma → Reunion with the Pact → Caithe's Reconnaissance Squad → Hidden Arcana
Tangled Paths	Return to Camp Resolve  → Tracking the Aspect Masters → Into the Labyrinth
Seeds of Truth	The Newly Awakened → Meeting the Asura → No Refuge
Point of No Return	Arcana Obscura → Pact Assaulted → The Mystery Cave
Mordremoth's Minions Invade Tyria	The Mordrem have invaded Brisban Wildlands (unavailable) → The Mordrem have invaded Diessa Plateau (unavailable) → The Mordrem have invaded Kessex Hills (unavailable)
← Previous: Living World Season 1 Next: Heart of Thorns →